Under the Ice
by Linial
Summary: After a rough mission in Antarctica, Batman and Wonder Woman end up trapped in the Javelin. What will happen when one of them will face death ? One-shot, obviously BMWW


**Not mine. I hope you'll enjoy this one-shot :) R &R**

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Under the Ice

"Batman to Watchtower. We are finished here. We are taking the Javelin back to the Watchtower."

" _Alright, Superman is already waiting for you."_

"He can wait." The Batman growled, annoyed of the eagerness of his friend to finish the Founder's meeting that had been interrupted by a global extraterrestrial attack. "Batman out."

Though the aliens attacked the bigger cities in the world, a small group of them tried to dig in the antarctic ground. Why ? Even the greatest detective of the world couldn't find out, yet. Anyway, Batman and Wonder Woman decided to take them out. The fight was more exhausting that they had thought as their opponents seemed more armed than the others. But even so, Batman and Wonder Woman's mightiness put an end to their unknown project.

"Princess, we are leaving." The Dark Knight ordered while he made his way toward the Javelin that was waiting them not too far away.

"Don't you think strange that they were just digging in the ice like that ? They must have a reason."

"I think that's strange too but I'm freezing here, I haven't your meta's powers."

"And since when did that stop you ?" She replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Since I can't feel my toes." He answered. "I will have to make sure to integrate a new temperature regulator to the suit." He mumbled to himself. He really hated to have to leave now that he could study what they were doing but he wasn't a fool and he knew if he stayed any longer, he could hurt himself.

"Fair enough."

She flew to the Javelin Batman had already got in and closed the door. Diana sat on the seat next to Batman who started the Javelin's engines the same time she entered. Surprisingly, the temperature in there wasn't too much different than the one out there. She watched as Bruce shivered under his armor.

"Are you alright ?"

"I just need a cup of coffee." He dismissed.

"If you say so. Hmm, what are you doing ?"

"I'll fly over the site to check we haven't missed anything."

"Alright."

Though the aliens had only been here for a few hours, the hole they dug was quite impressive. Seen from the sky, it seemed as if they were making some kind of quarry. At its bottom, they could glimpse many galleries that were certainly running under the thick layer of ice.

"I'll have to come back here." The Batman stated as he directed the Javelin away.

"Yes, there still questions without answ-"

Suddenly, the Javelin made a swerve to the right and then to the left. After that all he systems tuned off, including the propellers. The plane immediately started to fall.

"What's happening Bruce ?!"

"I don't know !" He yelled back as he tried various buttons and levers to reset everything.

However they were falling too fast. Batman had a chance to fix anything before the Javelin made contact with the frozen ground. Diana did the only thing she could think of the moment they hit the ground: she jumped between Bruce and the windshield to protect him with her body. Then, everything went black.

oOo

Bruce's head was hurting like someone was hammering inside his skull. Except of that, he didn't feel any broken bones, only two or three bruised ribs but his vital organs seemed preserved. His concern was more about a certain Amazon princess.

That's when he opened his eyes. He found himself behind a strange black curtain falling on his head. And now, he could feel that something was definitely pinning him down on his seat. Some rock or ice should have broken through the Javelin.

However, as his senses returned slowly, he suddenly recognized what the black curtain was.

"Diana !"

And what was pinning him down was obviously her body and his lack of energy. After some more minutes to recover and gather his strength, he was able to lift her body and get up to his feet. He quickly checked for Diana's injuries. She hadn't had the same chance as he. She had various cuts and bruises on her back, caused without any doubt by the glass that exploded when they hit the ground. Hopefully, her meta abilities would heal her wounds quickly.

The next thing he check was the League's communicators. It would have been too simple if that worked. Finally, he observed his surroundings. The Javelin was surprisingly in good shape, except for the four breaches that opened the cabin. Looking from one of the breaches, he found out that the Javelin was at the surface like he had thought. The Javelin was under the ice, and not only a little bit.

Unfortunately, the Javelin wouldn't resist very long under the pressure the ice was putting onto it. And unfortunately, the slightest movement could make the Javelin imploded under the pressure too. This was a problem.

"Bruce ?" Her voice was almost inaudible.

"I'm here, Princess." He answered her question, quickly returning to her side. "How are you feeling ?"

"I've been better." Her response earned a small smile from the Batman. "Where are we ?"

"Blocked in the Javelin." He informed her. "Under the ice."

"The League will soon be there." She stated confidently.

"Yes, but they can't do anything right now, any movement can make the ice we are under collapse."

"That's bad."

"I will find a solution."

She tried to sit up from her lying position but Bruce put a stop at her action by gently pushing her back to the seats she was resting on.

"You aren't fine yet."

"I am." She stubbornly replied as she tried again to get up only to be once more time pushed back.

"Wait some more hours that your injuries heal."

"Fine." She growled but finally obliged to Bruce's request, seeing she wasn't about to win this argument in her current state.

"I will check what supplies we have." He said and disappeared in the back part of the Javelin.

The Javelins should only serve as a vessel, not as expeditionary ship. However, they were designed by the great Batman, who had thought about everything. That's why Bruce knew immediately where looking for what he wanted. As he had expected, there was one week of ration in water and food. Since they were two, it should be enough for three or four days of supplies.

However, that wasn't what was bothering him. Diana would surely survive it, but he wasn't as unaffected by the coldness as her. If he didn't find something to warm himself up, he would freeze to death.

He returned to the cabin and Diana with the supplies he had found. As well as the food and water supplies, and found a portable stove and other stuff. At least, it would provide him some warmth. With six mouths of day and six of night, they had obviously found themselves being trapped without the solar light. Fortunately, the Javelin light system was still functioning, which was surprising after such a crash.

"I've found some stuff that can make us last some days." He informed her as he placed what he'd found one the table in front of her.

"We aren't in a too bad place then."

"Yes, we have some days to figure out how to get out of here." He nodded in agreement.

oOo

Since there wasn't any day/night cycle, it was easy to lose the track of time. If not for the timer Batman had incorporated in the Batsuit, they would have been clueless about what time it would possibly be.

One of the other bigger worry of Batman was that their rescuer would accidentally cause the ceiling to collapse but so far nothing happened. As it was almost five hours since they took the Javelin to come back to the Watchtower, the Justice League should have found us, which meant they had understood that they shouldn't try to dig them out or that they hadn't located them yet.

The temperature had also lowered. Batman was beginning to feel the effect of his hypothermia though he had wrapped a survival blanket around himself. However he resisted the urge to turn up the portable stove he had at his disposal because he wanted to keep it the longest possible time. Nevertheless, he knew he would have to soon.

"You should drink something, Bruce."

"I've drunk water."

"Hot drink." She glared at him, letting him know there wasn't any escape to avoid her order.

He shook his head and went to pick up freeze-dried coffee and some water he poured into a saucepan. He turned on the gas of the portable stole and warmed up the water to make coffee.

To be honest, this coffee was one of the bests he'd ever taken, yet he wasn't sure it was because it was really good or if it was only because he was freezing to death. Either way, he wasn't about letting these thoughts bother him when he was sipping his coffee.

"You should try to sleep, Princess."

"I'm not tired." She absentmindedly dismissed as she continued to stare blankly in front of her.

"Hmm, what are you thinking about ?"

She snapped back her attention to her comrade, shaking her head to clear her mind. "Nothing, just thinking that we haven't had to listen Kal finish his speech about how to better focus the young recruits during training."

Bruce couldn't help but chuckled at the thought: Clark would still be speaking about it. However he quickly came back to his drink.

"I think I can hear some activities above us." Diana said.

Bruce only nodded. He had expected they would have found them.

oOo

Bruce had listed all the possibilities to escape their ice prison but failed to imagine one that didn't include the risk of being smashed under tons of compacted ice. They couldn't leave the Javelin without digging into the ice and so, jeopardizing the structure. They could use the Watchtower's teleporter since their communicators were out of order. Their only chance was hoping their friends would find a solution.

Batman was now trying to get some rest. Almost seven hours had passed since their last contact with the Watchtower. The survival blanket was doing its job but with the actual temperature in the Javelin, it wasn't enough. He shouldn't sleep with that temperature but he needed to regain the strength he had used while fighting earlier in the day, or night.

"Bruce, you are trembling." Diana comment.

Of course, he was shivering, he was so cold. With the lack of answer, Diana grew only more concerned for her teammate. She got up he went to sit beside him. She put his gloved hand in hers and felt it was really, really cold.

"Bruce !" She gasped, "You're freezing !"

Again, he didn't answer her but continued to stare at nothing. She quickly decided to take off the blanket and the first layer of his suit and his cowl. Then she took him in her arms and put the blanket around them again.

"What are you doing ?" He faintly asked, having noticed he was held by his Princess.

"Body heat." She simply answered, calling his logical mind to understand.

He slowly nodded his head before silently falling into slumber once again. Diana held him tightly, thinking of what he could have thought when he momentarily regained consciousness. A wave of heat came to her face even if the temperature was glacial. Of course, she wouldn't mind if the reason she was holding him was a whole other. In fact, she wouldn't mind neither if he was holding her.

She was unaware that Bruce wasn't sleeping though. And meanwhile she was thinking about such things, he was having some similar thoughts. However, unlike her, he did want to give in his wish. He knew it would be disastrous. He was too damaged to love someone and be loved in return. His dark world would submerge her light. No, he couldn't let this happen.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but enjoyed the feeling of her perfect body pressed against his, her perfect curves molding into his. Yes, she was the epitome of beauty and perfection and it seemed she had some feelings for him. He was quite jealous about all the time she spent with Clark though he knew he shouldn't be. But yet again, she chose to pursue him, the dark and gloomy Batman and not the bright and strong Kryptonian.

No, he couldn't let these feelings get to his heart. He shouldn't even let her hold him like that. He as too close to her, too close to give in. He needed her to let him go, both literally and figuratively. He wasn't a man to bet your heart on.

He moved slowly to make sure he didn't wake her since she had fallen asleep some times ago. He succeeded to pull himself out of her hold but as he was about to pull her arms over his head, she moved in her sleep and wrapped herself in his arms, disabling him to completely free himself. All he had actually been able to do was to switch roles: he was now the one who was holding her.

oOo

Diana woke up in the strong hold of the Batman who was obviously still asleep. And obviously, she wasn't holding him anymore but quite the opposite. She smiled at the thought that Bruce hadn't escaped the proximity. Finally, maybe he was feeling something for her. No, she was being silly, the great Batman had no time for romantic interest, their embrace were only out of necessity, he needed to be kept warm if he wanted to live longer than some more hours.

She felt him stir against her body, she had surely awakened him. However he didn't seem to gain full consciousness as he didn't react when she called him. She didn't know how tired he was but seeing him asleep and that peaceful, no drawn features, no painful injuries to feel, just the calm over his soul and mind.

Who could have thought that the Batman was only peaceful in his sleep. Of course, if Diana had known how he was before she luckily captured his heart and thoughts, she wouldn't suppose so. Before, his nights were haunted by dreams, bad dreams. Almost twenty years after his parents' death, he was still reviving their death in his nightmares. He never found a way to get rid of them nor a way to cope with them, it was still as hurting as it was when it really happened.

However, since he had learned to know Diana and learned to love her, what he would undoubtedly deny, his nightmare slowly began to leave him only to be replaced by some more … enjoyable dreams. But of course, it raised some questions in his mind. How could he have possibly fallen while she hasn't even try to do so ? She haven't even yet to show any interest in him. How could it be possible he was currently wrapping his arms around her incredible shape ?

Wait, what ?! Bruce snapped his eyes open only to find his Princess watching him directly in his eyes, her face merely some inches apart from his. Blue eyes met blue ones. Bruce could only notice the worry in her eyes, worry for him. However, there was something else, something he couldn't point out.

"Bruce, are you alright ?"

"I'm fine." Bruce's voice was everything but the growl of the Batman. This wasn't the Batman speaking, it was the real Bruce, not the billionaire playboy, not the frightful Batman, the the man under the mask.

She only nodded in acknowledgment and then surprised him by putting her head on the crook of his neck and by tightening her clasp of him. He could only return the gesture. He ended up his head buried in her hair, inhaling her intoxicating jasmine scent. In this close embrace, if she were to try anything to get him to give his heart to her, he would undoubtedly do it.

It was hard enough for him not to give in to his desires and kiss her here and now. However he knew he couldn't let her in. What he didn't want to think about was she had already found a way inside the shield he had made around his heart. What he denied was that it already belonged to her.

oOo

How long they stayed wrapped around one other was something neither of them wanted to know or cared about. The only thing that mattered was the silent comfort they give to each other. One was thinking about what could be her future could be with a man, the man she loved, the other thinking about what couldn't be.

What they didn't notice while they were lost in their embrace and thoughts was the water that slowly ran down the wall of the Javelin. Soon enough, the floor was under a thin layer of water. Fortunately, Batman felt an icy bite on his heels. Reopening his eyes and looking down, he quickly found what was happening.

"Diana ! We need to get out, quickly !"

She rapidly leaped to her feet, looking around in the faint light of the Javelin's emergency system. She heard the splash her boots made when she landed on the floor. Water was pouring from the breaches at an alarming speed that seemed only to increase.

"I will try to dig us a way out." She called out for Batman.

She went to the biggest breach, took a crowbar and punched with her whole strength on the ice outside. Ice flew everywhere as the breach only poured more and more water in the cabin but she didn't stop. She knew she could fly through the ice and make her way to the surface but she wouldn't leave Bruce behind.

Water reached their knees. They hadn't more than a few minutes before there wouldn't be enough air to breath. Wonder Woman stroke once more the ice wall but then stopped when a hand was put on her shoulder.

She looked at the man whose belonged the hand. Bruce's eyes couldn't be more expressive than now. They spoke for him anything he had never had the chance to say nor the wish. He gently cupped her cheek and leaned in slowly, letting her the time to stop his action but he knew she wouldn't. She closed her eyes when their lips touched.

The kiss was slow and sweet, speaking about what would never happen. She could feel warmth flew up in her check though the glacial water was beginning to reach their shoulders. It was a kiss of goodbye, full of regrets and wants unsatisfied.

Bruce inhaled a last time her scent, breathed his last breath before the water completely submerged their both bodies. He couldn't have thought of a better death that one with his Princess, kissing her until his last breath.

Then they both felt that distinct stinging feeling of their molecules being ripped apart and reassembled on the transporter pad of the Watchtower. They both pulled away as a medical quickly handed them survival blanket. Bruce immediately put his cowl on. They both were placed on a stretcher and led to the infirmary.

What surprised the heroes that crossed their path was the small smile that had appeared on the Batman's face. He knew that he had made a leap he couldn't take back, he had finally opened his heart in front of the imminent death he was subjected to and wasn't about to close it again. His last though were on his Princess that was moved along him and the feeling of her hand in his before his world went black.

The End

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 **So ? What do you think ? I must say, I'm pretty pleased about it, well, absolutely in fact :D So thanks for reading any be expecting more one-shots, I didn't thought I would like doing one-shot like that before, but the idea just popped in my head, so I did it :) That being said, happy new year everyone and see you soon :)**

 **ps: If you want to know, superman used his heat vision to melt the ice that was preventing the communicator's signal to reach the Watchtower and therefore enable Diana and Bruce to be teleported to it.**


End file.
